Wakizashi mounted in a nice shirasaya. Blade has been attributed to the Kai Mihara School by the NTHK. Blade has a strong suguha hamon made up of nie. The jigane is a tight itame with some masame. There is some slight loosness in a few areas in the ji, and some shingane starting to show in place. The shape is unusual, being that of a shobu zukuri with a yokote line, but this blade may or may not be a nagamaki. Boshi is healthy with a Maru with a kaeri.In a good old polish, this blade shows the characteristics of a blade from the late Koto period. The Kai Mihara School was active in the Muromachi period, the last of the Mihara School that was famous in the Nanbokucho period. A quote from the Token Bijutsu magazine by the NBTHK explains it clearly:
"There is a school called 'Mihara' in Bingo Province of which the smiths were active from previous period. The school includes a considerable number of smiths, but there are few distinguished smiths and their workmanship does not show peculiarity so much. Also there is a term of 'Kai-Mihara' which it is used for the smiths of the school who were active in the end of the Muromachi Period, for instance 'Mihara Ju Kai Masazane'. They tempered chu-sugu-ha with few hataraki, occasionally o-midare based on gunome and forge whitish jigane. There are extant works of Masaoku, Masazane and Masanao."
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